Green for the Blues

Jennifer Metsker with a Depression Green Smoothie recipe

When I was depressed and couldn’t eat, it was much easier to drink my meals. This is the smoothie I came up with as a solution to make sure I was getting the nutrients I needed and that it was tasty enough for me to want to drink it. It was easier to make by having the bananas and berries already cut up and frozen. I would just cut up enough for the week—or my parents would—and put them in a container in the freezer so I could easily grab them.

Ingredients

• 1 banana (frozen ahead of time in small chunks)

• 1 cup berries (store-bought frozen or freeze yourself ahead of time)

• 1 large handful of kale (you can add more or less depending on how green you want it—I like it very green)

• 1 cup of vanilla soy, almond, or oat milk

• 1 half avocado

• 2 tbsp flaxseed meal

• 1 tbsp vanilla or unflavored protein powder

Put all of these items into a blender—I used a magic bullet—and blend for a minute or so, making sure the banana chunks are fully chopped up and the kale leaves are merely flecks (kale left too chunky makes it like you are drinking coleslaw). Pour into a glass and drink!            

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For more goodies…

Learn more about Jennifer and FED’s entire Summer 2024 global crew of musicians, artists, writers, growers, gleaners, cooks, and craftspeople, and be sure to check out all the tasty morsels we're serving up this season including Jennifer’s “When is happiness?” essay-poem-video, which went live earlier this week.